Saturday, July 26, 2014

I’m continuously neglecting putting pen to paper or even
fingers to keyboard. Something I’ve shied away from for the last few years…
just a lot of trauma I guess. Best hopes dashed on some fronts and losing both
my parents in quick succession… Just not the recipe for taking time to sit and
concentrate in the ways I’ve done in the past.

To the blog (We still use that word? It’s quite groggy).

I went to Manhattan to work out some hats and attend MRket
menswear show with my fellow chaps from Stetson. That may be the important
part, and bits on hats and hat care and hat creation are often my strong suit,
but that information will come with future posts and videos. What I want to
talk about is the sharing of knowledge and the fun that was had after all those
hours pounding the pavement while wearing various pairs of shoes.

I met and hung out with many interesting and captivating New
Yorkers…

Me and Gibson Frazier

Let’s start with Gibson Frazier. I didn’t expect to be
surprised by the intellect, but you’re always going to be taken a back when you
meet in person, someone that just has that “it” quality that used to be often
talked about, but is rarely defined. He’s a playwright that often does cameos on
the big screen and television, but primarily has worked at the keyboard writing
breakthrough artistic pieces… newer ones having strong online kickstarter
backing. I first learned of him through a movie he put together in 1999 called
Man of the Century where his character lived his affinity for the past and was
a man of the 1920s from hat to spats, living in the world of the 90s. You need
to see it. That’s acting chops put to their test.

We met at the Norwood, a classic social club that looked exactly
like what you’d imagine Manhattan would have, with a ledger to sign in at the
door to boot.

Great art on the walls, small tables with conversations
happening and someone to come by offering a cocktail every time your glass
looked as though the ice were all you had left. We sat, talked sartorial past
and future, art and acting, and just had a very good conversation. It was (to
use my California wording) awesome.

That was one of the greater highlights of the visit, but
there were many others, like meeting with Rose Callihan and Kellfire Bray. Rose
is the photographer that catalogued the nuances of the dandy set of today in
the new book I am Dandy. A book that is in a way the culmination of the well-dressed
movement that’s been coming back to this world, a world that has had a serious
bout with being lackadaisical toward dressing in general, and this is the book
showcasing the generals leading the resistance. We met at The Rum House where
luckily enough Jesse Gelber and Michael Arenella had already setup shop owning
the place with some intoxicating swing and jazz music. The talk was intellectual
and humorous, going from adventures to see some of these fellows, to tales of
the nightlife in New York. Kellfire was a man with great gravitas with a tight
grasp on fit and detail when the conversation went to suits.You two were fun, and Rose… I need my book
signed!

Rose Calahan sporting a prototype Stetson

I don’t want to fill this blog with too much to read about,
as most people expect a video nowadays… but I absolutely must say meeting DandyWellington … well, when it comes to getting the classics perfect, he’s an
expert. Not just in dress, but also in playing the period music he’s mastered.
His mode of dress is as suave as his voice, and his skill on the dance floor…
well he looked just as at home there as well.

Ignacio Quiles (Sartorial Pairings); It takes a lifetime of
riffing on classics to make those classics look balanced and acceptable to many
that just have an eye for now. He’s perfect at it. As we walked one of the
halls of the latest New York menswear trade shows I lost a suspender button
somewhere along the way… he replaced it using a pin from one of the venders
tables. Not just quick thinking, quick styling. The look after made me wonder
why I had a button sewn on there in the first place. Later that Monday we had a
profound conversation on how clubs featuring bands should turn down their
ambient music between sets so that patrons can take a breather from focusing on
the entertainment to talk.

What else to say… Had a lovely conversation with CharleyMarcuse and Rory Duffy, an amazing tailor and winner of the Savile Row Golden
Sheers award. Much about cutting jacket to be open or cutting them to be closed,
At the time we were getting more and more tired as we went to a local Irish pub
to continue talking about the slightest minutiae on fitting the hardest to fit
individuals when it comes to bespoke tailoring.

Me swinging with Gin Minsky

Thank you for all the dances Gin Minsky. Meeting Bernard
Delgado and Jack Newcastle is always captivating conversation about the best of
what is New Yorks Nightlife. And to Laura, our Archivist at Stetson. I don't know how many hours we dug through the history and talked the state of clothing in general, but it was all smashing to see and learn and know.

About Me

I really like to travel.
I had a closet full of ill fitting things so I became a menswear designer and garnered a following of clients that look for something just a bit better when it comes to fit and balance. Suits and shirts that look well made and feel like pyjamas.
www.mattdeckard.com
I write a menswear column in Zelda Magazine and am the longest standing moderator on the Fedora Lounge. I have written articles in Classic Style and Femme Fatales Magazines and styled shoots for Classic Style, Femme Fatales and Geek.
I'd go on and on but this isn't a resume, it's little bit on me. I'll be posting local spots and happenings at times, yet mostly observations on clothing... things I couldn't find in many places and often had to learn on my own. I hope you enjoy reading these tidbits, because at times I really really enjoy writing them.